Mengistu Alemayehu is a contemporary artist from Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. He was certified ‘The NALA Project Artist’ in 2017 and exhibits in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Leipzig.

He is the third oldest of 7 children of Abez Emiru, a librarian who raised her children alone after the death of her husband in 1998. Mengistu started art class in elementary school and was encouraged by his art teacher, who advised him to ‘never give up on his talent’. Early on his teacher challenged him with art projects in school, and sometimes even engaged him as an assistant for other classmates. Mengistu didn’t give up and continued painting to master his personal touch as an autodidact.

A deep source of inspiration for him is the islands on Lake Tana, where religious scripts from the 13th century, untouched nature, and rare wildlife can be found. Every day is a new chance and most important to Mengistu is ‘to be found helpful whenever needed’